Useful Tips for Dutch Oven Cooking
If you want to make some tasty meals for your family with Dutch oven cooking, perhaps while camping, there are some useful tips that can increase the chances that your family will enjoy the meal.
Typically, Dutch ovens are made from cast iron or aluminum. The aluminum Dutch ovens have the advantage of being significantly lighter in weight. The aluminum version doesn't need any curing and just like the cast iron types they have been designed for cooking on open fires and can be heated with coals.
The cast iron Dutch ovens have the advantage of being better at keeping their heat as well as being significantly more effective at evenly distributing the heat. Some experts of Dutch oven cooking claim that the aluminum variety adds a chalky type of taste to the foods while the cast iron dutch ovens provide a smoked flavor to the meals.
A Good Lid
Select a Dutch oven that has some legs and make sure the lid that is provided makes a snug fit for Dutch oven cooking. It's a good idea to select a dutch oven that has a consistency regarding the thickness of the metal. Hot spots as well as cold spots can be created due to variations in the thickness of the metal in the oven.
Cast Iron
If you select a cast iron dutch oven for cooking meals the oven has to be properly cured. A Dutch oven that has been properly cured will not rust and will provide the inside of the pot with a surface that will keep your food items from sticking to the pot while Dutch oven cooking. After you have sufficiently cured the oven it's a good idea to keep the cure and improve it by wiping the oven with a little oil, lard or shortening while the oven is dry and warm. Experts suggest that you never clean the Dutch oven with wire types of scrubbers or brushes since they can easily eliminate the curing that you have produced in the Dutch oven.
If you are going to do some Dutch oven cooking it's also highly recommend that you purchase a lid filter which will prevent the lid from moving when you lift it. A wire handled type of hook is typically used while some prefer to use a more recent variation which combines a three legged type of a brace device with a hook.
In order to avoid your food from becoming dry, or burned on the bottom or not cooked enough on the top make sure to purchase the right sized coals and space them properly in order to achieve the appropriate temperature inside the Dutch oven. You will want to use coals that are about the size of typical charcoal briquettes. Soon enough you will agree that Dutch oven cooking can provide you and your family with some excellent meals.
